Furies turns Lebanon’s depositor’s crisis into an Oscar contender

Furies brings Lebanon’s depositors’ crisis to the Oscars race after the Ministry of Culture selected it to represent Lebanon in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2027 Academy Awards.

The debut feature by Lebanese director Rami Kodeih, co-written with Nora Mariana, follows two sisters who plan to break into a bank to recover their frozen savings and pay for a life-saving operation.

The story draws on the filmmakers’ own experience. In 2019, Kodeih’s savings were trapped in a bank while Nora, his wife and co-writer, needed surgery they could not pay for with their frozen funds. Their anger grew into the idea for the film.

Before its selection, Furies screened in the Venice Spotlight section of the Venice Film Festival. It received production support from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and stars Maria Nkouzi, Reem Marwa, Hassan Akil, and Issam Bou Khaled.

Lebanon’s selection committee chose the film unanimously, citing its subject, direction, screenplay, performances, cinematography, and pacing.